Chapter 231 — Ball

[ACC Grand Ballroom - Evening]

The ballroom was magnificent – easily two hundred meters across, crystal chandeliers hanging from impossibly high ceilings, marble floors polished to mirror shine and enormous windows showing the Capitol skyline.

Presidents and Vice Presidents from all top one hundred participating Academies filled the space, dressed in their finest, conversations flowing with practiced political ease.

The moment Elizabeth entered, she became the center of attention.

Male students gravitated toward her like moths to flame, their faces showing various degrees of interest – some professional and some clearly personal.

"President Murdock! I’m President Vance from Skyreach Academy. I’ve heard so much about your accomplishments."

"Elizabeth! It’s been too long! Remember me from the last tournament?"

"May I get you a drink, President Murdock?"

She handled them all with practiced grace, her political training showing as she maintained conversations with multiple people simultaneously, her smile never faltering.

Damian found himself completely out of his element.

’I know how to intimidate gang leaders. How to execute traitors. How to fight Monsters. But small talk with Noble students about meaningless things? This is actual torture.’

He extracted himself from the crowd around Elizabeth and moved to the back of the ballroom, finding a seat in a corner where he could observe without being constantly engaged.

But even here, the attention followed.

Hush Hush

Imperials and Nobles seemed to know exactly who he was, their eyes tracking his movement and their conversations pausing as he passed.

It felt like common consensus – isolate the revolutionary. Don’t engage and don’t acknowledge.

He heard whispers as groups talked nearby, their voices not quite quiet enough.

"That’s him? The one leading commoners against our order?"

"Tsk Tsk. Playing revolutionary. He thinks he can change centuries of tradition."

"Heard he’s just a criminal who got lucky. No real talent or sophistication."

"His policies have destroyed Stormhold’s internal stability. Look at their team – completely inexperienced."

But there was another type of attention too.

Noble women – clustered in their own groups – were looking at him with stars in their eyes, their whispered conversations carrying different tones.

"He’s so dangerous-looking. Like a bad boy from novels."

"I heard he killed Demons. Actually fought them. That’s so... intense."

"And he doesn’t care about Noble opinion at all. That confidence is really attractive."

Damian pretended not to hear any of it.

A server approached with a tray of drinks – expensive alcohol in crystal glasses.

Damian took one and downed it in a single gulp, the burn familiar and welcome.

’This whole place reeks of Nobles. Fake smiles, political maneuvering and backstabbing disguised as diplomacy. What the fuck am I even doing here?’

He took another glass before the server could move away.

Then several female commoner students – Presidents and Vice Presidents from smaller Academies – approached nervously.

"Mr. Valcor? I’m President Elisa from Runeria Academy. I just wanted to say... you’re kind of a hero to commoner students everywhere."

Another joined in, her face showing genuine admiration.

"The reforms you implemented at Stormhold? We’ve been trying to push similar changes at our Academies. You’ve inspired a movement."

"Could we... could we maybe talk strategy sometime? Learn from your approach?"

Damian stood there speechless, not knowing how to respond to genuine admiration from the opposite gender.

’This is weird.’

As he was surrounded by earnest commoner students asking questions and expressing support, jealousy sparked elsewhere.

A male Noble – tall, handsome in a conventional way, clearly from a significant family – saw the attention Damian was receiving from female Nobles and commoners despite being isolated by males.

His voice rose above the conversations, pitched to carry.

"Isn’t it sad how standards have fallen? Stormhold Academy – once prestigious – now led by a criminal. A gang leader playing at being legitimate."

"..."

Silence spread outward from his statement like ripples, conversations dying as people turned to watch.

The atmosphere became tense immediately.

Elizabeth’s face changed, her expression shifting from political smile to protective anger. She was about to intervene, to defend Damian–

But the Nobles accompanying her started agreeing with the speaker.

"You’re right. It’s disgraceful."

"They should never have allowed someone like him into a leadership position."

"Criminal elements corrupting our institutions."

The criticism built, multiple voices joining and the consensus of Noble opinion turning against Damian publicly.

And through it all, Damian just stood there drinking calmly.

He gestured to a passing server, took another glass, downed it in the suffocating silence.

Then... he started walking toward the Noble who’d spoken, his movement casual, his hands still in his pockets.

"..."

Everyone watched, breath held, waiting to see what would happen.

Damian stopped directly in front of the speaker, looking at him with calm curiosity.

"Is this supposed to agitate me?"

Before the Noble could respond, Damian’s hand shot out, grabbed him by the throat, lifted him off his feet, and threw him directly through the nearest window.

"AHH–"

CRASH.

Glass exploded outward, the Noble’s scream fading as he fell toward the gardens below – not far enough to kill with his B+ rank durability, but far enough to hurt and humiliate.

Damian turned back to the commoner students like nothing had happened.

"Sorry, you were asking about strategy implementation? Continue."

"..."

Shocked silence filled the ballroom.

Then the Noble whispers started again, louder now.

"Barbaric!"

"See? Just a thug! The rumors are true!"

"No discipline or self-control whatsoever!"

"This is why commoners shouldn’t be in leadership!"

Damian ignored all of it, his attention focused on the commoner students who were looking at him with mixture of fear and awe.

But his eyes shifted briefly toward one specific direction in the ballroom – a spot where the air seemed slightly different, where his enhanced perception detected something others missed.

Then he went back to standing by himself, drink in hand, completely unbothered by the chaos he’d created.

The ball continued with conversations resuming, but everyone gave Damian significantly more space now.

Cough Cough

Then a sound cut through the noise – gentle coughing that somehow commanded absolute attention.

Everyone turned toward the center of the ballroom.

An old woman stood there, leaning on a cane, her face appearing completely young – smooth skin, bright eyes – but her voice and bearing radiating ancient power.

"Good evening, young ones."

Her voice was kind, almost grandmotherly, but carried undertones that made every student in the room straighten instinctively.

"I am President Eleanor of the Academy Council Committee. You may call me Granny Eleanor."

The reaction was immediate.

Every single student stood upright, their postures becoming military-precise.

This was a legend made flesh. One of the first S+ rank humans. Someone who’d fought at the frontlines when portals initially opened. Who’d killed thousands of Monsters personally. Who’d helped establish the entire Academy system.

Her power was so far beyond anyone present that even breathing felt like it required permission.

She smiled warmly, roaming her eyes around the assembled students.

Then her gaze paused.

"I’ve been present in this room from the very start. Few students managed to sense my presence at all."

Her smile widened slightly.

"But only one managed to locate me directly despite my concealment."

Everyone followed her gaze to see her looking at Damian, who looked back calmly, his face showing he’d known she was there the entire time.

’So that’s what I sensed earlier. An S+ rank hiding her presence. Impressive concealment...’

Eleanor continued, addressing the entire room.

"It fills me with joy to see so many capable young ones rising in our Federation. I won’t take much of your time with speeches."

Her voice became more serious.

"There will be only one winner in this tournament. But all of you gathered here are the cream of your generation. I expect every single one of you to grow stronger and become shields protecting our entire race."

Then... her amused face turned toward Elizabeth specifically.

"...My dear Elizabeth. You’re already A- rank. I’m so proud of your achievement – it’s genuinely exceptional for a third-year student."

Elizabeth smiled, about to thank her–

"But I’m sorry, dear. Allowing you to compete in this tournament would make it unfair for other teams. This year, we’re implementing a new rule: only students up to B+ rank may participate."

Boom!

Shock rippled through the crowd like a physical wave.

Many students started showing joy – their strongest competitors just got banned!

Elizabeth’s face cracked completely, her composure shattering.

"WHAT?! This is unfair! What kind of rule is this? Why weren’t we informed beforehand?!"

Her voice rose, anger exploding through.

"I’m in my third year! I’m the President of my Academy! I’m clearly allowed to compete! This is deliberate suppression of Stormhold!"

Her purple Aura started leaking out uncontrollably, pressure radiating outward with her emotions overwhelming her usual control.

First her Council members betrayed her. Now this!

She wasn’t stupid! She could see the political maneuvering clearly!

"..."

Silence spread across the ballroom as everyone held their breath, watching the legendary President Eleanor face off against an enraged Elizabeth Murdock.

Granny Eleanor said nothing, just maintained her kind smile.

Clap Clap Clap

Then clapping resounded across the room.

It was a slow, deliberate and sarcastic applause.

Everyone turned to see Damian standing there, clapping with a smile on his face but ice in his eyes.

Granny Eleanor’s expression shifted slightly, her smile becoming more interesting.

"Young Valcor. Do you have something to say?"

Damian stopped clapping but said nothing.

He just walked toward Elizabeth, took her hand gently, and started pulling her toward the exit.

"..."

The entire ballroom watched in stunned silence.

At the doorway, Damian paused and looked back over his shoulder.

His voice cut through the silence like a blade – cold, confident and absolutely certain.

"I look forward to the tournament."

Then he and Elizabeth left, the door closing behind them.

Bam!

"..."

Nobody moved for several seconds.

Then the whispers exploded.

"Did he just... walk out on President Eleanor?"

"The disrespect!"

"He’s insane! Completely insane!"

"But also... kind of impressive? Nobody else would dare."

"Stormhold is finished. Their President can’t compete, their team is all first-years, and their Vice President just insulted the ACC head."

"Or... maybe he’s more dangerous than we thought."

Granny Eleanor stood in the center, her kind smile never wavering, her ancient eyes showing something that might have been approval.

’That boy... He saw through everything immediately and understood the political games.

Looks like that old fool Kaiser managed to get a good disciple after a long time.’

The ball continued, but everyone knew the tournament had just gotten far more interesting.